Simple DIY Headboard for the Guest Room
DIY Custom Headboard Ideas on a Budget – no wood or power tools needed.
Today I want to show you how I made a DIY headboard for a guest room with a few old display tricks I used back in the day when I worked in retail display. One of my weekly tasks at the store was to make the display beds up using the newest bedding that the store sold.
The display staff had no budget to buy headboards for the beds so we had to use our resources to come up with creative ideas to make the beds look grander than only a mattress and boxspring on a plain bed frame.
In my previous house we had a designated guest room, I now have 2 rooms to use when friends and family come to stay with us. I showed you the first one before the holidays. I thought I would decorate that room in a feminine style and this one with a masculine vibe.
I used two sets of sheets. One set on the mattress itself. The fitted sheet from the second set I used to cover the boxspring, the flat sheet became the DIY headboard.
Covering the box spring with the fitted sheet is the best option to hide the boxspring when you don’t want to use a dust ruffle.
When using a platform bed, a box spring is not needed. I used the boxspring though, since I wanted the clean-line look of the platform, but the height of a traditional bed.
The flannel sheets, quilt and throw I found for a bargain at Designer Living.com. They sell brand name bedding and more for 50% off.
The flannel sheet set I will use in the colder months. Once spring arrives, I will change out the sheets to cotton with a summer like design.
I always like to have a coverlet or throw on the bed so guests can get comfy and take a nap without having to unmake the bed. This one is king size and so soft since it is made with minky fabric.
- I bought the fur pillows at Marshall’s.
- The curtain rod for the headboard is from Target.
- The bench in the bottom right corner of the photo was once a window seat in my daughter’s room.
How to Make a DIY Headboard Using a Bed Sheet
supplies needed:
- Flat sheet that is the same size as the bed or fabric yardage (Allover or solid fabric are easier to use than a plaid where you will need to make sure the horizontal lines in the design are even across the rod.)
- Curtain rod
- Short curtain rod holder so rod will be close to the wall when mounted
- Screwdriver
- Measuring tape
- Bubble level
- Pencil
- Pull the bed away from the wall. Hang the curtain rod above the bed so that the finials are slightly past the width of the bed. Use a bubble level to make sure it is level. I hung my rod 55″ from the floor.
- The rod holders that came with the rod positioned the rod too far out from the wall. I needed to replace these with holders that would position the rod no more than 2-inches from the wall. I used old ones from a previous rod. They were white. I painted the holder section of the brackets in oil rubbed bronze and left the back of the brackets white so they would blend in with the wall. A rod holder with a short projection is needed so that the sheet falls straight down against the wall even when the bed is pushed up against it.
3. Once the rod is hung, iron the flat sheet and then drape it over the rod. Bring the ends together along the bottom. You can use safety pins to hold it in place. Fold under one or both side edges of the sheet to get it to the length of the rod. Make sure you leave enough of the sheet to cover the bracket.
4. Push the bed back up to the wall.
How I Painted the Bed Frame
The king size bed in the room use to be in my youngest daughter’s room in our previous house. She never had a bed frame and had the boxspring and mattress right on the floor. When we moved to the lake I placed them in the room right on the floor. They have been that way until a few weeks ago when I ordered a metal platform bed from Amazon.
I thought about making a platform for the bed, but after some research, I found it was less expensive and a whole lot easier to buy a platform bed frame. The one I liked only came in black.
I wanted an oil-rubbed bronze finish, so I painted the frame the day it was delivered using Rustoleum Ultra Cover paint in Metallic Oil-Rubbed Bronze. I sanded the finish to rough up the surface to provide some tooth for the paint to adhere to.
After I cleaned the surface of sanding grit, I applied one light coat of gripping primer and then two light coats of the paint.
Once the paint was dry I got the bed made doing what I did when I worked in retail display.
Completed Room Makeover
I painted the walls since I first made the sheet headboard. I also added a new ceiling fan and plank ceiling.
Another Easy DIY Headboard Ideas
Fast Framework: For another custom-made headboard , convert a blank canvas into over the bed art. Simply stretch bating across the canvas front and secure to the back of the frame using a staple gun. Cover the batting with fabric. Once yard of fabric will cover a 3 x 4 canvas. For a king size bed, – butt two or more canvases together.
